![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/CA-Civil-war.jpeg\" "\\"CA")
<\/p>\nBy Bob Garver<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The highlight of \u201cCaptain America: Civil War\u201d is a six-on-six superhero-on-superhero battle. For simplicity\u2019s sake, we\u2019ll call the sides Team Captain America and Team Iron Man. Team Captain America consists of Captain America (Chris Evans), The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd). Team Iron Man consists of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland).<\/p>\n
Why is everybody fighting one another? The seeds are planted when U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt, a carryover from the Incredible Hulk\u2019s portion of the Marvel Universe) suggests that The Avengers operate under the supervision of the United Nations. Iron Man believes in changing the team\u2019s image from that of unsupervised vigilantes, but Captain America is jaded by the corruption of S.H.I.E.L.D. and not ready to answer to another organization. Another factor is The Winter Soldier. Captain America\u2019s compromised best friend is apparently responsible for an attack on the United Nations that kills Black Panther\u2019s father (the man is the least-harmed explosion victim I\u2019ve ever seen) and is definitely responsible for an attack on the family of a member of Team Iron Man. But the biggest reason is that it\u2019s simply time to break up The Avengers.<\/p>\n
There are twelve superheroes in this movie. There were ten at the end of the last \u201cAvengers\u201d movie and this isn\u2019t even an \u201cAvengers\u201d movie because Thor and Hulk are sitting this one out. The team is getting too big. It needs to remain at a manageable number as its ranks grow. Halving them here is a good way to do it, except that having both halves in the same movie somewhat defeats the purpose. It\u2019s no doubt exhausting to have to come up with something for every one of them to do. And unfortunately it\u2019s just as exhausting trying to keep up with all of them.<\/p>\n
Not that the new characters are introduced inefficiently. We get Black Panther\u2019s origin here, and it\u2019s typical, but quick. We\u2019re spared another retelling of Spider-Man\u2019s origin, the film correctly assumes that we already know it. Ant-Man shows up with no more explanation than \u201cLook who I brought along.\u201d With too many characters bouncing around, the brevity is appreciated.<\/p>\n
The villain in this film is Zemo (Daniel Bruhl). Who is Zemo? He\u2019s nobody. Normally when I describe a villain that way, it\u2019s because he\u2019s a stealthy, secretive type who doesn\u2019t leave clues about his identity. But in this case, I say it because he\u2019s been treated like he doesn\u2019t matter. He\u2019s taking on cinema\u2019s greatest team of superheroes, but he\u2019ll be the first to tell you he\u2019s no supervillain. And yet his identity as a rando works very much to his advantage. This kind of role is Bruhl\u2019s specialty; initially dull, yet he gradually wins you over.<\/p>\n
Thematically, \u201cCaptain America: Civil War\u201d has a lot in common with \u201cBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.\u201d Both films see their heroes struggle with tough decisions about how much power they should be allowed to have. Both film see their heroes have to answer for collateral damage from their previous films. And of course both films see their heroes fighting one another. This one will rightfully go down as the superior film, but the other was so miserable that this one is superior just by being average. The action is decent but typical, even from a superhero vs. superhero standpoint (it\u2019s not like we haven\u2019t seen some of these guys fight each other before). The storylines with Captain America, Winter Soldier, Iron Man, and Zemo toward the end are compelling, but many of the supporting characters seem forced into the movie just so the advertising can push the \u201call-star cast\u201d aspect. This movie does superhero fallout better than \u201cBatman v. Superman,\u201d but that doesn\u2019t mean that it gets it quite right.<\/p>\n
Two Stars out of Five.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaptain America: Civil War\u201d is rated PG-13 for extended sequences of violence, action, and mayhem. Its running time is 146 minutes.<\/p>\n